More B.C. heat records broken as wildfires intensify

Daily high temperature records were broken in more than a dozen B.C. communities Saturday, as hot and dry weather continues to cause a surge in wildfire activity.

The hottest place in the province was Lytton, where the mercury hit 41.2 C, breaking a record of 40.6 C set in 1946. The temperatures in Princeton and Creston broke records set in 1931, with those communities seeing temperatures of 37.3 C and 37.2 C, respectively.

More than 20 heat warnings remain in effect Sunday, covering vast swathes of the province.

“An extended period of high temperatures will continue as a ridge of high pressure remains over the region. Little relief is expected at night with elevated overnight temperatures,” the warnings from Environment Canada say, with some predicting cooler temperatures as early as Tuesday.

The BC Wildfire Service, in its provincial situation report Saturday, noted that fire activity saw an increase due to dry thunderstorms in the Interior and central parts of the province.

“Crews continue to focus on aggressive initial attack with close to 1,000 BC Wildfire Service firefighters on the ground as well as contract crews, aviation, heavy equipment and structural protection crews,” the update said.

“With no rainfall in the southern regions the fire danger is high to extreme in most areas,” it continued.

As of Sunday morning, there were 324 wildfire burning. Of those, three are classifies as wildfires of note, meaning there is they are highly visible or pose a potential threat to public safety.

Nine evacuation orders and 15 alerts are in effect.